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Bail set at $1.2M for mom who drove kids into ocean

South Carolina mother Ebony Wilkerson made her first appearance before a judge at the Volusia County Branch Jail on Saturday, March 8, 2014. Wilkerson is charged with three counts of attempted murder after driving her minivan into the ocean with her three children onboard. Bail was set at $1.2 million.

Published: Sunday, March 9, 2014 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 10, 2014 at 10:49 a.m.

Ebony Wilkerson, the pregnant South Carolina woman who faces attempted murder charges after driving her van into the ocean with her three young children inside, remains at the Volusia County Branch Jail after a judge set her bail at $1.2 million Saturday.

Wilkerson, who appeared wide-eyed and softspoken at her first court appearance, pleaded with Volusia County Judge Shirley Green to set bail so she could stay with family while awaiting criminal proceedings.

“I am a citizen,” Wilkerson quietly uttered to the judge. When Green announced the bail amount, Wilkerson looked shocked. “It doesn't make sense,” she said as an officer escorted her back to jail.

Also Saturday, an attorney for Wilkerson's husband, Lutful Ronjon, issued a public statement for the first time in response to Wilkerson's allegations that Ronjon assaulted her in a Myrtle Beach hotel room on March 1 and abused her for more than a decade.

“Mr. Ronjon thanks God and the people who rescued his family,” attorney Leonard Ross said in the statement. “He has and will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities. The domestic violence allegations concerning Mr. Ronjon were baseless and were the result of extreme mental illness. Mr. Ronjon greatly appreciates any privacy his family can now enjoy during this difficult time.”

Ronjon contacted investigators Friday to tell them he had arrived in Volusia County. Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary Davidson said he did not know whether Ronjon had met with investigators Saturday.

Volusia County Public Defender Jim Purdy said he plans to ask for another hearing to reduce Wilkerson's bail. Purdy said in order to leave jail while waiting for criminal proceedings, Wilkerson would have to pay about $130,000 to a bondsman.

“I don't think the family has the money to post bond so I believe we will be asking for a bond reduction hearing,” Purdy said. “Very few people can come up with $130,000 to meet the premium to bond out.”

Assistant Public Defender Nora Hall had urged Green to set a reasonable bail bond and said Wilkerson was not a high flight risk because she has family in the area. The bail amount Judge Green set included $900,000 for three counts of attempted murder and $300,000 for three counts of child abuse.

Purdy spent nearly an hour discussing the legal proceedings with Wilkerson's friends and family members after Saturday's hearing at the jail. The group of her supporters refused to speak with the press and would not identify themselves.

The friends and family who appeared at the jail quickly ran into their cars to avoid reporters. One man who said he was a family friend asked reporters to respect the family's privacy.

“You should have sympathy for a family going through something like this,” the man said.

Wilkerson's sister, Jessica Harrell, 28, tried to get her sister and the children into a domestic violence shelter on Tuesday before Wilkerson drove into the ocean, but was told shelters in the area were filled. She then called 9-1-1 and asked a sheriff's dispatcher if a well-being check could be done on Wilkerson because Wilkerson was talking about demons and Jesus.

Tuesday afternoon, just two hours before Wilkerson went to the beach with her children, she was stopped by Daytona Beach police on Clyde Morris Boulevard and Jimmy Ann Drive. When police stopped her at the intersection, though, Wilkerson was lucid and told officers that she and her children were headed to a safe place because they were trying to get away from her abusive husband, an incident report shows.

Officers looked in on the children, ages 3, 9 and 10, in the backseat and said they were not in distress. While a sergeant said he thought Wilkerson was suffering from mental illness, he could not by law take her into custody under the state's Baker Act because she did not pose a threat to herself or her children at that moment, Daytona Beach police Chief Mike Chitwood said.

But a couple of hours later, Wilkerson was “acting like a lunatic,” according to her 9-year-old son's account to investigators. The boy told them “Mom tried to kill us” when she rolled up the Honda Odyssey's windows, locked the doors and drove slowly into the ocean. Several bystanders chased after the car as Wilkerson drove into three feet of water and her son tried to fight her for the steering wheel. Waves crashed into the car, causing it to shift and nearly turn over.

Wilkerson later denied trying to hurt her children, telling police officers that she was driving too close to the ocean and waves pulled her in, according to the charging affidavit.

The children remain in state custody.

Wilkerson told investigators she had suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband. On March 1, Wilkerson placed a 9-1-1 call to police and reported that her husband was abusive and had attacked her in front of her three children while the family was staying at a Hampton Inn in Myrtle Beach, S.C. She filed a police report with Myrtle Beach police. She later filed a police report with North Charleston police on the Myrtle Beach incident, as well, because she said Myrtle Beach police had not arrested the 31-year-old Ronjon.

Wilkerson also lived in Palm Beach County from 2005 to 2010, and in 2005 Ronjon was arrested after Wilkerson reported he had hit her while the couple fought about receipts, according to the Palm Beach Post. Investigators ended up not prosecuting Ronjon, court records from Palm Beach County show.

In another incident, Wilkerson was found at fault for a car accident in 2007 that killed Jennifer Krane in Delray Beach. Wilkerson's car collided with Krane and her husband's Nissan on Interstate 95 after Wilkerson changed lanes, according to the Palm Beach Post. Krane was in the backseat with her infant son. Wilkerson was sentenced to community service for a lane-change violation but was never arrested.

Chet Bell, CEO of Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare, said a case like Wilkerson's is puzzling for mental health professionals. Family members claim Wilkerson does not have a history of mental illness, and she acted calm and did not pose a threat to herself or the children in front of the Daytona Beach police officer who stopped her for the well-being check.

“I think the system worked effectively,” Bell said. “I definitely think this is an outlier case.”

Bell added that traumatic events can impact a person's mental health but the nature of mental illness is still very complex.

“The brain is an organ of the body that is subject to a wide range of diseases, just like other organs,” he said. “It's so complex that we just don't always know what causes it or why a dramatic change causes the kind of behavior this woman engaged in.”

<p>Ebony Wilkerson, the pregnant South Carolina woman who faces attempted murder charges after driving her van into the ocean with her three young children inside, remains at the Volusia County Branch Jail after a judge set her bail at $1.2 million Saturday. </p><p>Wilkerson, who appeared wide-eyed and softspoken at her first court appearance, pleaded with Volusia County Judge Shirley Green to set bail so she could stay with family while awaiting criminal proceedings.</p><p> “I am a citizen,” Wilkerson quietly uttered to the judge. When Green announced the bail amount, Wilkerson looked shocked. “It doesn't make sense,” she said as an officer escorted her back to jail.</p><p>Also Saturday, an attorney for Wilkerson's husband, Lutful Ronjon, issued a public statement for the first time in response to Wilkerson's allegations that Ronjon assaulted her in a Myrtle Beach hotel room on March 1 and abused her for more than a decade. </p><p>“Mr. Ronjon thanks God and the people who rescued his family,” attorney Leonard Ross said in the statement. “He has and will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities. The domestic violence allegations concerning Mr. Ronjon were baseless and were the result of extreme mental illness. Mr. Ronjon greatly appreciates any privacy his family can now enjoy during this difficult time.” </p><p>Ronjon contacted investigators Friday to tell them he had arrived in Volusia County. Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary Davidson said he did not know whether Ronjon had met with investigators Saturday. </p><p>Volusia County Public Defender Jim Purdy said he plans to ask for another hearing to reduce Wilkerson's bail. Purdy said in order to leave jail while waiting for criminal proceedings, Wilkerson would have to pay about $130,000 to a bondsman. </p><p>“I don't think the family has the money to post bond so I believe we will be asking for a bond reduction hearing,” Purdy said. “Very few people can come up with $130,000 to meet the premium to bond out.” </p><p>Assistant Public Defender Nora Hall had urged Green to set a reasonable bail bond and said Wilkerson was not a high flight risk because she has family in the area. The bail amount Judge Green set included $900,000 for three counts of attempted murder and $300,000 for three counts of child abuse.</p><p>Purdy spent nearly an hour discussing the legal proceedings with Wilkerson's friends and family members after Saturday's hearing at the jail. The group of her supporters refused to speak with the press and would not identify themselves.</p><p>The friends and family who appeared at the jail quickly ran into their cars to avoid reporters. One man who said he was a family friend asked reporters to respect the family's privacy. </p><p>“You should have sympathy for a family going through something like this,” the man said. </p><p>Wilkerson's sister, Jessica Harrell, 28, tried to get her sister and the children into a domestic violence shelter on Tuesday before Wilkerson drove into the ocean, but was told shelters in the area were filled. She then called 9-1-1 and asked a sheriff's dispatcher if a well-being check could be done on Wilkerson because Wilkerson was talking about demons and Jesus.</p><p>Tuesday afternoon, just two hours before Wilkerson went to the beach with her children, she was stopped by Daytona Beach police on Clyde Morris Boulevard and Jimmy Ann Drive. When police stopped her at the intersection, though, Wilkerson was lucid and told officers that she and her children were headed to a safe place because they were trying to get away from her abusive husband, an incident report shows.</p><p>Officers looked in on the children, ages 3, 9 and 10, in the backseat and said they were not in distress. While a sergeant said he thought Wilkerson was suffering from mental illness, he could not by law take her into custody under the state's Baker Act because she did not pose a threat to herself or her children at that moment, Daytona Beach police Chief Mike Chitwood said. </p><p>But a couple of hours later, Wilkerson was “acting like a lunatic,” according to her 9-year-old son's account to investigators. The boy told them “Mom tried to kill us” when she rolled up the Honda Odyssey's windows, locked the doors and drove slowly into the ocean. Several bystanders chased after the car as Wilkerson drove into three feet of water and her son tried to fight her for the steering wheel. Waves crashed into the car, causing it to shift and nearly turn over.</p><p>Wilkerson later denied trying to hurt her children, telling police officers that she was driving too close to the ocean and waves pulled her in, according to the charging affidavit. </p><p>The children remain in state custody.</p><p>Wilkerson told investigators she had suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband. On March 1, Wilkerson placed a 9-1-1 call to police and reported that her husband was abusive and had attacked her in front of her three children while the family was staying at a Hampton Inn in Myrtle Beach, S.C. She filed a police report with Myrtle Beach police. She later filed a police report with North Charleston police on the Myrtle Beach incident, as well, because she said Myrtle Beach police had not arrested the 31-year-old Ronjon. </p><p>Wilkerson also lived in Palm Beach County from 2005 to 2010, and in 2005 Ronjon was arrested after Wilkerson reported he had hit her while the couple fought about receipts, according to the Palm Beach Post. Investigators ended up not prosecuting Ronjon, court records from Palm Beach County show. </p><p>In another incident, Wilkerson was found at fault for a car accident in 2007 that killed Jennifer Krane in Delray Beach. Wilkerson's car collided with Krane and her husband's Nissan on Interstate 95 after Wilkerson changed lanes, according to the Palm Beach Post. Krane was in the backseat with her infant son. Wilkerson was sentenced to community service for a lane-change violation but was never arrested. </p><p>Chet Bell, CEO of Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare, said a case like Wilkerson's is puzzling for mental health professionals. Family members claim Wilkerson does not have a history of mental illness, and she acted calm and did not pose a threat to herself or the children in front of the Daytona Beach police officer who stopped her for the well-being check. </p><p>“I think the system worked effectively,” Bell said. “I definitely think this is an outlier case.” </p><p>Bell added that traumatic events can impact a person's mental health but the nature of mental illness is still very complex. </p><p>“The brain is an organ of the body that is subject to a wide range of diseases, just like other organs,” he said. “It's so complex that we just don't always know what causes it or why a dramatic change causes the kind of behavior this woman engaged in.”</p><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>